Air regulating means for liquid-fuel furnaces



-. 5 1934- H. c. GRANT, "JR I 1,976,681

AIR REGULATING MEANS FOR LIQUID FUEL FURNACES Filed July 1, 1932 I 2 Sheets-Sheet l INDUCED DRAFT W To 0:

INVENTORY HARRY CAMPBELL GEM/Mk,

ATTORNEY Och 1934- H..C. GRANT, JR 1,976,681

AIR REGULATI IING' MEAIiS FOR LIQUID FUEL FURNACES Filed July '1, 1952' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I9; I8 EDT 2 1 FIGURE 2 HARRY CAMPBELL GRANEJR- F IGU R E 4 BY g. m-W W ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES AIR REGULATING MEANS FOR LIQUID-FUEL FURNACES Harry Campbell Grant, Jr., New York, N. Y., assigner to Walter Kiddo & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 1, 1932, Serial No. 620,431

Claims.

This invention relates to means for varying the volume of air for combustion purposes supplied to liquid-fuel furnaces and the like through the medium of automatic control means actuated 5 by the pressure of the fuel, so that proportionate quantities of fueland air are introduced intoa furnace under all variations of heat production found desirable.

More specifically, the present invention con- 10. stitutes an improvement in, or rather a desirable modification of, the invention shown and described in my co-pending application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 620,430, filed on even date herewith.

In common with my herein referred to copending application, wherein a balancing mechanism controlled by the variable pressures of fuel and air is employed'to control the supply ofsteam to the air delivery control means of a. furnace, I contemplate theuse of a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum for maintaining some desired balanced condition, but I further provide means for maintaining the balance of said beam despite certain undesirable I external influences to which the beam may be subjected, such as rolling and pitching in marine usage.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide in a mechanism subject to.

' '30 rolling and pitching or the like, and embodying a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum, means'for maintaining the balance of the beam, comprising means to set up a moment of force to counteract any undesirable moment tending to unbalance the beam.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide in a mechanism for maintaining a balanced condition between the quantities of fuel and air delivered to afurnace and comprising 4 a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum,

means to maintain a desiredbalanced condition of the beam despite tendency of the beam to move from a balanced position due to rolling and pitching when used on board ships, or 5 under any conceivable similar operating conditions. r

The invention will now 'be described more (Cl. 236-1) I I Figure 3 is a view similar to'Figure 2, showing the ship tilted at an angle due to rolling, the apparatus of Figure 2 being unbalanced due to the action of rolling.

Figures is the same as Figure 3 except that 6 the apparatus therein employed embodied my invention and hence remains properly balanced despite any rolling action or the like.

Referring first of all to Figure 1, I have shown at 1 a balance arm having a fulcrum at 2' and having suspended therefrom two air containers 3 and 4. These air containers are arranged to rise and fall within tanks 5 and 6 containing an air-sealing liquid, such as water. The-interior of the air containers is connected by means of a pipe line 7 with the forced draftl duct of a furnace (not shown) while the'interior of the air container 4 is connected by means of a pipe line 8 with the induced draft stack of the furnace. At 9 is shown an expansible bellows-like member which is connected by a pipe line 1.0 with the fuel supply of the furnace and which is adapted to expand and contract upon variations in the pressure of the fuel, the movements of the bellows-like member being transmitted, against the compressive force of a spring 11, to an arm 12, pivoted at 13, and connected by a link 14 with a carriage 15 sup.- porting a number of weights 16 and adapted to be moved along the balance arm 1 with the aid of rollers 17.

The reference numeral 18 represents an electrical contact supported on the balance-arm l and adapted to rise and fall with the balance arm between electrical contacts 19 and 20 arranged to define upper and lower-limiting positions of the balance armv All three of these contacts are connected in suitable electrical circuits for exerting a desired controlling effect on the forced draft of the furnace, itbeing'unnecessary to illustrate these circuits in connection with the exposition of the present invention, as the circuits simply enable desired increases and decreases in the forced draft'of thefurnace to be effected. I

The arrangement as just described enables a balanced condition to be maintained by the balance arm between the variable pressures of the fuel and air delivered: to the furnace and, while this arrangement in itself forms no part of the present invention, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide means to maintain the balance of the armdespite certain undesirable external'influences to which the arm" may be subjected, such as rolling and pitching.

will jcounteract' the undesirable moment andconditionof the arm about the fulcrum.

I the air tanks 3 and 4 would still act in a vertical ofgravity, which would tend to :bring. the arm:

ed athwartship, the reference numerals employed having the same meaning as in Figure l and the arrows representing the forces produced by and/or due to the pressureof the fuel, the pressure of the forced draft, and the suction of the induced draft. 7

When, with the arrangement of Figure 2, the ship rolls as shown diagrammatically in Figure 3, the components of the forces shown in Figure 2 produce a moment of force which up"- sets the balance of the arm, causing the lower contacts to close, thus effecting an undesired operation of the controlling circuits connected to the contacts. I

,In order to overcome this difficulty and with reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, the present invention contemplates the use of a mass or group of weights 20", of a magnitude calculated to locate the center of gravity of the arm land ofthe mass substantially at the fulcrum, said mass being disposed normally in a vertical line with the fulcrum, whereby any tendency toward unbalancing of the arm by an undesirable moment of force will set up, a moment of force through-the center of gravity of the mass which maintain the balanced condition of the arm.

' In this connection it should be understood that the arm 1 is normally balanced in a horizontal position about the fulcrum 2, as shown inFigure 2, andthat when in such position the center of gravity'of the arm 1, .the'air tanks 3 and 4,, andthe weight 16 will be located substantially at the fulcrum 2, being somewhat below. andin a. vertical line with the fulcrumin the construction shown. Since the weights 20' are also'disposed in a vertical line with the fulcrum, the center of gravity of said weights will be in a vertical line passing;v through the center of gravity of the arm and through the fulcrum 2, and they will accordingly have no effect on the balance of vthe beam while the mechanism remains in a. horizontal .position. Any tendency towards unbalancing, of 'the arm about jthefulcrum by' any undesirable moment of force set up'by asudden shift of the mechanism into a non-horizontal position will:cause the weights 20" to set up a moment of force about. the fulcrum which will counteract the undesirable moment and maintain a balanced What would actually occur tothe mechanism without the weights ,20, upon the roll of the ship, as illustrated by Figure 3, is that the gravitational forces of the arm 1, the weight 16, and

direction but at new 'moment'arms, the mechanism would not be in the normal balancedhorizontal position, and the center. of gravity of the entire mechanism would therefore beshifted -to .oneside of the fulcrum, with the result that an unwanted electrical contact would be made.

In other words, there would be amoment of force set up due to: the shifting of the center 1, the weight 16, and the air tanks 3 and 4 into equilibrium in'a horizontal position. The weights 20' provide the necessary counteracting moment of force to prevent this occurrence and to also bring these elements into a balanced position of rest about the fulcrum 2 in such aImanner that the arm 1 will not be in a horizontal position.

Theweights 20, in the embodiment shown, are provided with a central bore and are centered on a pin 21 secured to the balance arm 1 and provided with a supporting plate 22.

The manner in which the counteracting moment is produced can be clearly seen in Figure 4, wherein said moment of the mass 20" is shownby the arrow 23, said moment tending to prevent the unbalancing of the arm depicted inFigure 3; V

It will, of course, be understood that rolling of the ship in the direction opposite to that shown in Figure 4 with aresultanttendency to close the upper contacts, will cause the moment of force 23 to be shifted to the other side of the fulcrum, thus exerting the desired balancee maintaining effect. r o

It will be further understood that the mass 20' need not always be disposed above the plane of the balance arm, as the design may be such that the center of gravity of the arm is normally above the fulcrum, in which; case the mass should be placed in line with but below the, fulcrum. In this connection it should be understood that the expression center of gravity of the arm has reference to the center of gravity of the arm proper and its appendages taken together, the center of gravity in the construction shown being somewhat below but in a ver tical line with the fulcrum.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have made adecided improvement in balance-maintaining mechanisms of the type referredto and it is; to be understood that the present invention, while it has" been described with specific reference to .the accompanying drawings, is not to be limited, save as defined inthe appended claims, in connection with which, however, it is intended that the. claims shall be readto cover uses of the mechanism equivalent to'marine usage with subjection thereof to rollingand pitching or similar bal: ance disturbing influences. v V I I claim: k

1. In a mechanism subject to, pitching, as in marine usage, and embodying a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum but having its center of gravity spaced from the fulcrum, the combination of means for maintaining the balance of the beamdespite rollingand pitching comprising a mass supported on the beam in line with the fulcrum and ofa magnitude calculated to locate the center; ofgravity of the beam and the mass substantially at the:

reumgf and tion and between limiting positions, the c0mbi-.

nation of means for maintaining an existing balanced condition of the beam between the;

limiting positions despite rolling and pitching comprising a mass supported on the beam in line with the fulcrum and of a magnitude calculated to locate the center of gravity of the beam and the mass substantially at the fulcrum.

3. In a mechanism subject to rolling and pitching, as in marine usage, and embodying a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum and having its center of gravity at some point below a horizontal plane through the fulcrum, the combination of means for maintaining the balance of the beam despite rolling and pitching comprising a mass supported on the beam directly above the fulcrum and of a magnitude calculated to locate the center of gravity of the beam and the mass substantially at the fulcrum.

4. In a regulating mechanism for maintaining a balanced condition between the quantities of fuel and air delivered to a furnace, said mechanism being subject to rolling and pitching, as in marine usage, and embodying a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum by the varying pressures of fuel and air but having its center of gravity spaced from the fulcrum, said beam rolling and pitching comprising a mass sup- 1 ported on the beam in line with the fulcrum and of a magnitude calculated to locate the center of gravity of the beam and the mass substantially at the fulcrum.

5. In a mechanism subject to pitching and rolling, as in marine usage, and embodying a beam balanced statically about a fulcrum but having its center of gravity spaced from the fulcrum, means comprising a mass supported on the beam in line with the fulcrum to supply a moment about the fulcrum, in a plane through the fulcrum, to counteract any other moment set up in the same plane, due to pitching or rolling, tending to upset the statical balance of the mechanism.

HARRY CAMPBELL GRANT, JR. 

